Florida US Senate Race 2010: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Orlando, Fla. -- Depending on your point of view, the US Senate race in Florida entails everything that's wrong with American politics or everything that's right, and it's doing it all within the constraints of the Republican Party since the Democrat's candidate remains at best a long shot. So far the race has seen the resignation of a Senator (Mel Martinez), the emergence of a GOP rising star (Marco Rubio), and an incumbent Governor (Charlie Crist), who has change his political affiliation in order to revive a failing campaign. Here then is the good, the bad, and the ugly of the race for the Florida Senate in 2010.

The Good

The emergence of Marco Rubio as a significant player and a viable Republican candidate has been nothing short of a god-sent for a party currently struggling to develop new leadership. Rubio, 38, who has served as Speaker of the House of Representative in Florida, seems at least capable of bringing fresh ideas to age old problems. Rubio's views and ideas, which are for the most part captured in his book 100 Innovative Ideas for Florida's Future, form a strong basis for his campaign. Throwing his hat in the ring in May of 2009, Rubio was able to open up a sizable double-digit lead on rival Charlie Crist for the Republican Party nomination. It was a move that forced Charlie Crist to break off his affiliation with the GOP in order to run as an Independent.

The Bad

While the emergence of Marco Rubio as a viable candidate has been good for the GOP in Florida, it spelled the end of Governor's Charlie Crist's affiliation with the Party. Unable to close ground on Rubio within the Republican Party, Crist declared himself an Independent candidate in late April (2010) and broke off his affiliation with the GOP in May. It was a move that helped Crist gain an edge on Rubio, with the latest Rasmussen poll showing Crist holding a slight 38%-34% lead on Rubio. In the poll, Democrat Kendrick Meeks remains a distant third, getting the nod from only 17% of those polled.

The Ugly

With Crist and Rubio now locked in a battle for votes in Florida, the GOP chances of keeping this highly important Senate seat have now drastically decreased. Besides the possibility that the GOP may lose the seat an Independent, Crist's split from the GOP also provides a better opportunity for a Democratic candidate to take the seat. While this type of race may seemingly promote the ideals of democracy at its fullest, there's little doubt that Crist's move also embraces a darker side of American politics, a side in which career politicians place their self interest and political career above the job a public servant is asked to do. If Crist's flip in party allegiance had been one motivated by core values it would be understandable, but that doesn't seem to be the case here, as Crist's now seems eager to court Democrat votes by embracing ideals he either spurned or kept mum on just a few months ago. So for now, regardless of how the Senate race turns out in Florida, the score stands at Politicians 1, The People of Florida 0.

Sources:

http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=158932

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections2/election_2010/election_2010_senate_elections/florida/election_2010_florida_senate

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections2/election_2010/election_2010_senate_elections/florida/election_2010_florida_republican_primary_for_senate

http://centralfloridapolitics.com/tag/us-senate-race/